Method and system for supporting sharing of experiences between users, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium

ABSTRACT

There is provided a method for supporting experience sharing between users. The method includes the steps of: acquiring spatial information on a shared content for experience sharing; determining a virtual space in which the shared content is to be provided to a user, with reference to the spatial information on the shared content and time point information associated with the user; and in response to the user creating an authored content in the virtual space, sharing the authored content with respect to a location matched with a location where the authored content is created in the virtual space.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national phase of International Application No.PCT/KR2021/017550 filed on Nov. 25, 2021, which claims priority toKorean Patent Application No. filed on Nov. 26, 2020, the entirecontents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method, system, and non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium for supporting experience sharingbetween users.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, there is an increasing demand to share experienced orrecorded video contents with others through a social network service(SNS) or the like.

As an example of related conventional techniques, Korean RegisteredPatent Publication No. 10-1713256 discloses a system for providing a SNScontent creation and sharing platform, comprising: a server forproviding a platform for SNS content creation and sharing services; anda terminal for providing a user input interface to a user through theplatform and receiving post information to be shared through the SNSfrom the user, wherein the server receives the post information inputtedby the user from one or more terminals to generate one or more squareson the basis of the received post information, and controls the one ormore generated squares to be shared through the SNS, and the square isan SNS content generated by the server converting the post informationinputted by the user according to a predetermined criterion.

However, according to the techniques introduced so far as well as theabove-described conventional technique, opinions on playing contentsshared by other users can only be exchanged on a separate web page,bulletin board, comment section, or the like, which causes experiencesto be passively shared only through the shared contents, and hindersinteractive communication between the users. Further, it is difficult toauthor additional contents on the basis of contents created by otherusers, without professional knowledge about content editing.

In this connection, the inventor(s) present a novel and inventivetechnique to enable active experiences, authoring of new contents, orinteractive communication with other users, on the basis of contentscreated and shared by other users, and to turn the contents into a timecapsule by adding the concept of time to the contents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention is to solve all the above-describedproblems in the prior art.

Another object of the invention is to support a vivid experience of ashared content in a virtual space associated with the shared content.

Another object of the invention is to support authoring of a new contentin a virtual space associated with a shared content.

Another object of the invention is to support a plurality of users tointeractively communicate in a virtual space associated with a sharedcontent.

Another object of the invention is to provide a user experience in whichan augmented reality video and a virtual reality video are spatiallyconnected.

Another object of the invention is to support an experience of a virtualspace associated with a shared content with respect to a specific timepoint or in chronological order.

Another object of the invention is to support a plurality of userspresent at different time points to with a shared content.

The representative configurations of the invention to achieve the aboveobjects are described below.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method forsupporting experience sharing between users, the method comprising thesteps of: acquiring spatial information on a shared content forexperience sharing; determining a virtual space in which the sharedcontent is to be provided to a user, with reference to the spatialinformation on the shared content and time point information associatedwith the user; and in response to the user creating an authored contentin the virtual space, sharing the authored content with respect to alocation matched with a location where the authored content is createdin the virtual space.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a systemfor supporting experience sharing between users, the system comprising:a spatial information acquisition unit configured to acquire spatialinformation on a shared content for experience sharing; a virtual spacedetermination unit configured to determine a virtual space in which theshared content is to be provided to a user, with reference to thespatial information on the shared content and time point informationassociated with the user; and a sharing management unit configured to,in response to the user creating an authored content in the virtualspace, share the authored content with respect to a location matchedwith a location where the authored content is created in the virtualspace.

In addition, there are further provided other methods and systems toimplement the invention, as well as non-transitory computer-readablerecording media having stored thereon computer programs for executingthe methods.

According to the invention, it is possible to vividly experience ashared content in a virtual space associated with the shared content.

According to the invention, it is possible to author a new content in avirtual space associated with a shared content.

According to the invention, it is possible for a plurality of users tointeractively communicate in a virtual space associated with a sharedcontent.

According to the invention, it is possible to provide a user experiencein which an augmented reality video and a virtual reality video arespatially connected.

According to the invention, it is possible to support an experience of avirtual space associated with a shared content with respect to aspecific time point or in chronological order.

According to the invention, it is possible to support a plurality ofusers present at different time points to with a shared content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of an entire system forsupporting experience sharing between users according to one embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 2 specifically shows the internal configuration of a support systemaccording to one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 3, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12A, 12B, 13A,13B, 13C, 13D, 13E, 14A, 14B, 14C, 15A, 16, 17A, and 17B illustrativelyshow situations in which experiences are shared between users accordingto one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description of the present invention,references are made to the accompanying drawings that show, by way ofillustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It is to beunderstood that the various embodiments of the invention, althoughdifferent from each other, are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Forexample, specific shapes, structures and characteristics describedherein may be implemented as modified from one embodiment to anotherwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Furthermore, it shall be understood that the positions or arrangementsof individual elements within each embodiment may also be modifiedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore,the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limitingsense, and the scope of the invention is to be taken as encompassing thescope of the appended claims and all equivalents thereof. In thedrawings, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elementsthroughout the several views.

Herein, the term “content” or “contents” encompasses digital informationor individual information elements comprised of text, symbol, speech,sound, image, video, and the like, which are accessible viacommunication networks. For example, such contents may comprise datasuch as text, image, video, audio, and links (e.g., web links) or acombination of at least two types of such data. More specifically, suchcontents may include a content related to a character, a volumetricvideo, a point cloud, an object composed of polygons, or the like.

Hereinafter, various preferred embodiments of the present invention willbe described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings toenable those skilled in the art to easily implement the invention.

Configuration of the Entire System

FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of the entire system forsupporting experience sharing between users according to one embodimentof the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the entire system according to one embodiment ofthe invention may comprise a communication network 100, a support system200, and a device 300.

First, the communication network 100 according to one embodiment of theinvention may be implemented regardless of communication modality suchas wired and wireless communications, and may be constructed from avariety of communication networks such as local area networks (LANs),metropolitan area networks (MANs), and wide area networks (WANs).Preferably, the communication network 100 described herein may be theInternet or the World Wide Web (WWW). However, the communication network100 is not necessarily limited thereto, and may at least partiallyinclude known wired/wireless data communication networks, knowntelephone networks, or known wired/wireless television communicationnetworks.

For example, the communication network 100 may be a wireless datacommunication network, at least a part of which may be implemented witha conventional communication scheme such as radio frequency (RF)communication, WiFi communication, cellular communication (e.g., LongTerm Evolution (LTE) communication), Bluetooth communication (morespecifically, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication), infraredcommunication, and ultrasonic communication.

Next, the support system 200 according to one embodiment of theinvention may be a digital device having a memory means and amicroprocessor for computing capabilities. The support system 200 may bea server system.

The support system 200 according to one embodiment of the invention maycommunicate with the device 300 to be described below via thecommunication network 100, and may function to: acquire spatialinformation on a shared content for experience sharing; determine avirtual space in which the shared content is to be provided to a user,with reference to the spatial information on the shared content and timepoint information associated with the user; and in response to the usercreating an authored content in the virtual space, share the authoredcontent with respect to a location matched with a location where theauthored content is created in the virtual space.

The shared content for experience sharing according to one embodiment ofthe invention may refer to a content that is created on the basis of areal-world place or a virtual place, and allowed to be shared to (e.g.,watched, viewed, or experienced by) at least one user. For example, theshared content may be a content created on the basis of a real-worldplace, such as a CCTV video or image, a 360-degree camera video orimage, a smart phone video or image, a dashboard camera video or image,a drone video or image, a three-dimensional point cloud (or a pointcloud image or video), and a three-dimensional mesh (or a mesh image orvideo), or a content created on the basis of a virtual place, such as avirtual reality (VR) video.

The configuration and functions of the support system 200 according tothe invention will be discussed in more detail below. Meanwhile,although the support system 200 has been described as above, the abovedescription is illustrative, and it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that at least a part of the functions or components required forthe support system 200 may be implemented or included in the device 300to be described below or an external system (not shown), as necessary.

Next, the device 300 (e.g., a device of the user) according to oneembodiment of the invention is digital equipment that may function toconnect to and then communicate with the support system 200 via thecommunication network 100, and any type of portable digital equipmenthaving a memory means and a microprocessor for computing capabilities,such as a smart phone, a tablet PC, smart glasses (e.g., capable ofsupporting augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality(MR), extended reality (XR), etc.), and a head-mounted display (e.g.,capable of supporting AR, VR, MR, XR, etc.), may be adopted as thedevice 300 according to the invention. Further, according to oneembodiment of the invention, the device 300 may include a photographingand scanning module for creating the shared content (e.g., a camera orLiDAR), a display module for providing the virtual space or the sharedcontent (e.g., an LCD, an LED display, or an OLED display), and thelike.

Meanwhile, the device 300 according to one embodiment of the inventionmay include an application for supporting the functions of supportingexperience sharing between users according to the invention. Theapplication may be downloaded from the support system 200 or an externalapplication distribution server (not shown).

Configuration of the Support System

Hereinafter, the internal configuration of the support system 200crucial for implementing the invention and the functions of therespective components thereof will be discussed.

FIG. 2 specifically shows the internal configuration of the supportsystem 200 according to one embodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the support system 200 according to one embodimentof the invention may comprise a spatial information acquisition unit210, a virtual space determination unit 220, a content provision unit230, a sharing management unit 240, a communication unit 250, and acontrol unit 260. According to one embodiment of the invention, at leastsome of the spatial information acquisition unit 210, the virtual spacedetermination unit 220, the content provision unit 230, the sharingmanagement unit 240, the communication unit 250, and the control unit260 of the support system 200 may be program modules that communicatewith an external system. The program modules may be included in thesupport system 200 in the form of operating systems, application programmodules, and other program modules, while they may be physically storedin a variety of commonly known storage devices. Further, the programmodules may also be stored in a remote storage device that maycommunicate with the support system 200. Meanwhile, such program modulesmay include, but are not limited to, routines, subroutines, programs,objects, components, and data structures for performing specific tasksor executing specific abstract data types according to the invention aswill be described below.

First, the spatial information acquisition unit 210 according to oneembodiment of the invention may function to acquire spatial informationon a shared content for experience sharing. The spatial information onthe shared content according to one embodiment of the invention mayinclude information on a geography, a location, an object, a theme, andthe like of a real-world place or a virtual place associated with theshared content.

For example, when the shared content is a content created byphotographing a real-world place, the spatial information acquisitionunit 210 may acquire, as the spatial information on the shared content,information on at least one of a location (in absolute coordinates(e.g., geographic coordinates such as GPS coordinates) or relativecoordinates) corresponding to the real-world place where the sharedcontent is photographed, a direction in which the real-world place isphotographed in the shared content (e.g., a direction angle or azimuthfor a subject in the shared content), an object (e.g., a subject)located in the real-world place where the shared content isphotographed, a point cloud related to a space or object scanned in thereal-world place where the shared content is photographed (e.g., abuilding located in the real-world place), and a theme specified in theshared content. Meanwhile, the theme according to one embodiment of theinvention may refer to a main object specified in the shared content oran object that may be adopted as a reference, and may encompass not onlya tangible object but also an intangible object (e.g., the sky, sea,atmosphere, or the like). For example, the theme may be specified as anobject having the greatest importance (or percentage) in the sharedcontent, or an object having public awareness at or above apredetermined level. Here, the awareness may be determined, for example,with reference to a social network service (SNS), a web database, andthe like, or on the basis of a result of analyzing disclosed information(e.g., public information, SNS information, and the like) ornon-disclosed information (e.g., personal information) using artificialintelligence (e.g., deep learning).

More specifically, when the shared content is a video content created byphotographing the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, the spatial informationacquisition unit 210 may specify the theme as the Eiffel Tower whoseawareness is at or above a predetermined level, and may acquireinformation on at least one of a shape (which may encompass both animaginal shape or a shape based on spatial data such as a point cloud),location, and orientation of the Eiffel Tower in the shared content(i.e., information on the theme) as the spatial information on theshared content. Further, the spatial information acquisition unit 210may acquire information on at least one of a location, height, width,and area of the Eiffel Tower (i.e., information on the object) as thespatial information on the shared content.

Meanwhile, the spatial information acquisition unit 210 according to oneembodiment of the invention may specify or estimate information on anobject in the shared content by performing machine learning or deeplearning focusing on information on a shape, location, size, area,width, volume, and the like of the object (i.e., information onproperties of the object).

Next, the virtual space determination unit 220 according to oneembodiment of the invention may function to determine a virtual space inwhich the shared content is to be provided to a user, with reference tothe spatial information on the shared content and time point informationassociated with the user.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the virtual spacedetermination unit 220 may create the virtual space with reference tothe spatial information on the shared content. Here, the virtual spaceaccording to one embodiment of the invention is a virtual space (whichmay consist of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional space) implementedequally or similarly to a real-world place or a virtual place associatedwith the shared content, and may be created on the same scale as thespace specified or limited in the shared content, or created based onthe space on a scale expanded by a predetermined extent.

For example, the virtual space determination unit 220 may specify aplurality of videos (or images) related to a place associated with theshared content with reference to the spatial information on the sharedcontent, and may create the virtual space on the basis of the pluralityof specified videos (or images). (Meanwhile, when the shared content istwo-dimensional, the shared content may be reconstructed in threedimensions on the basis of the plurality of videos). More specifically,the virtual space determination unit 220 may create the virtual space bymatching (e.g., horizontally translating, vertically translating,rotating, or resizing) the plurality of videos (or images) on the basisof at least one of a photographing position and a photographingdirection of the shared content (e.g., to coincide with at least one ofthe photographing position and the photographing direction of the sharedcontent), on the basis of at least one of a shape, size, location, andorientation of a theme specified in the shared content (e.g., tocoincide with at least one of the shape, size, location, and orientationof the theme specified in the shared content), or on the basis of apoint cloud related to the place associated with the shared content(e.g., to coincide with at least one of a shape, size, location, andorientation of the point cloud related to the place associated with theshared content). In this case, for example, even if the shared contentincludes only a two-dimensional video content related to a subject, athree-dimensional virtual space may be created by matching a pluralityof three-dimensional videos (or images) associated with the sharedcontent on the basis of information on at least one of a photographingposition and a photographing direction of the shared content, orinformation on at least one of a shape, size, location, and orientationof a theme specified in the shared content. Meanwhile, according to oneembodiment of the invention, the plurality of videos may be acquiredfrom at least one of public videos (or images) and private videos (orimages) related to a real-world place or a virtual place associated withthe shared content. For example, the virtual space determination unit220 may acquire the plurality of videos (or images) associated with theshared content from CCTV videos (e.g., videos of a CCTV installed in aconcert hall or store), SNS videos, or YouTube videos that arephotographed in a position or direction identical or similar to thephotographing position or photographing direction of the shared contentwithin a predetermined distance from the real-world place or virtualplace associated with the shared content. (The plurality of videos maybe acquired in real time through a streaming method or the like).Meanwhile, the virtual space determination unit 220 may also acquire allor part of the plurality of videos (or images) associated with theshared content as the spatial information on the shared content.

As another example, the virtual space determination unit 220 may specifya plurality of point clouds related to a place associated with theshared content with reference to the spatial information on the sharedcontent, and may create the virtual space on the basis of the pluralityof specified point clouds (e.g., such that at least one of shapes,sizes, locations, boundaries, and orientations of the plurality ofspecified point clouds coincide with each other). More specifically, thevirtual space determination unit 220 may create the virtual space bymatching (e.g., horizontally translating, vertically translating,rotating, or resizing) a plurality of point clouds related to objectsscanned in a real-world place where the shared content is photographed(see FIG. 16 ).

As yet another example, when the shared content is a 360-degree video,the virtual space determination unit 220 may directly create a virtualspace identical or similar to a real-world place or a virtual placeassociated with the shared content with reference to the spatialinformation on the shared content, without using the plurality of videosas above. More specifically, the virtual space determination unit 220may directly create a virtual space associated with the shared content(i.e., the 360-degree video) with reference to the spatial informationon the shared content, without separately specifying (or acquiring) aplurality of videos of a place associated with the shared content.(Meanwhile, a lookup table or database for virtual spaces correspondingto the spatial information may be further used). In this case, thevirtual space determination unit 220 may expand the virtual space by apredetermined extent by matching (e.g., horizontally translating,vertically translating, rotating, or resizing) a plurality of videosassociated with the expanded space to create an expanded virtual space.

Further, according to one embodiment of the invention, the virtual spacedetermination unit 220 may correct the virtual space created as abovewith reference to the time point information associated with the user(e.g., information on a specific time or period).

For example, according to one embodiment of the invention, the timepoint information associated with the user may correspond to time pointinformation at the time when the shared content is provided to the user.Here, according to one embodiment of the invention, the time pointinformation at the time when the shared content is provided to the usermay be different from time point information at the time when thevirtual space is created. (For example, the time point information atthe time when the shared content is provided to the user may follow thetime point information at the time when the virtual space is created(i.e., the shared content may be provided to the user after apredetermined amount of time since the virtual space is created)).According to one embodiment of the invention, the virtual space may becreated with respect to the time point information at the time when thevirtual space is created. However, according to one embodiment of theinvention, if the time point information at the time when the sharedcontent is provided to the user is different from the time pointinformation at the time when the virtual space is created, the virtualspace may be corrected to reflect temporal changes (e.g., seasonalchanges in natural objects, or creation, erosion, or aging of natural orartificial objects) between the time point information at the time whenthe shared content is provided to the user and the time pointinformation at the time when the virtual space is created. That is, thevirtual space determination unit 220 according to one embodiment of theinvention may correct at least one component of the virtual space (e.g.,a geography, a location, an object, a theme, and the like of the virtualspace) to match with the time point information at the time when theshared content is provided to the user. Meanwhile, to this end,information on temporal events (e.g., the Eiffel Tower may not existbefore 1887 when it was built), change patterns (e.g., change patternsin which leaves of a tree turn red or yellow and put on autumnal tintsin the autumn, and the leaves are shed and snow falls on the branches inthe winter), and the like of natural or artificial objects may be used.

As another example, according to one embodiment of the invention, thetime point information associated with the user may correspond to timepoint information specified (or searched for) by the user. Here,according to one embodiment of the invention, the time point informationspecified by the user may be different from time point information atthe time when the virtual space is created. (For example, the time pointinformation specified by the user may precede or follow the time pointinformation at the time when the virtual space is created (i.e., thetime point information may be specified by the user before or after thevirtual space is created)). According to one embodiment of theinvention, the virtual space may be created with respect to the timepoint information at the time when the virtual space is created.However, according to one embodiment of the invention, if the time pointinformation specified by the user is different from the time pointinformation at the time when the virtual space is created, the virtualspace may be corrected to reflect temporal changes (e.g., seasonalchanges in natural objects, or creation, erosion, or aging of natural orartificial objects) between the time point information specified by theuser and the time point information at the time when the virtual spaceis created. That is, the virtual space determination unit 220 accordingto one embodiment of the invention may correct at least one component ofthe virtual space (e.g., a geography, a location, an object, a theme,and the like of the virtual space) to match with the time pointinformation specified by the user. Meanwhile, to this end, informationon temporal events (e.g., the Eiffel Tower may not exist before 1887when it was built), change patterns (e.g., change patterns in whichleaves of a tree turn red or yellow and put on autumnal tints in theautumn, and the leaves are shed and snow falls on the branches in thewinter), and the like of natural or artificial objects may be used.

Meanwhile, the virtual space determination unit 220 according to oneembodiment of the invention may cause the virtual space to change in atime-serial manner with reference to the time point informationassociated with the user. For example, the virtual space determinationunit 220 according to one embodiment of the invention may cause thevirtual space to change successively over time between first time pointinformation specified by the user and second time point information atthe time when the shared content is provided to the user (or third timepoint information specified by the user (i.e., time point informationdifferent from the first time point information). That is, the virtualspace determination unit 220 may cause the temporal changes between theabove time point information (e.g., between the first time pointinformation and the second time point information) to be reflected in ageography, a location, an object, a theme, and the like of the virtualspace in a time-serial manner.

Meanwhile, the virtual space determination unit 220 according to oneembodiment of the invention may correct the virtual space with referenceto an output result of a virtual space correction model. For example,the virtual space correction model according to one embodiment of theinvention is a model specified by performing learning based onartificial intelligence (AI) including machine learning or deeplearning, and may be configured to perform learning (e.g., learning ofpatterns in which at least one component of the virtual space changeswith reference to temporal (or seasonal) changes in natural orartificial objects (e.g., patterns in which flowers bloom on a treeobject of the virtual space in the spring, and the flowers wither andsnow falls on the tree object in the winter)) with reference toinformation on changes over time (specifically, changes with the passageof time) in at least one component of the virtual space or at least oneenvironmental element (e.g., which may include nature, technology,architecture, industry, climate, weather, and events (e.g., incidents oraccidents)) associated with the at least one component, and to output,when the time point information associated with the user and at leastone component of the virtual space are inputted, the at least onecomponent of the virtual space to match with the time point informationassociated with the user, with reference to a result of the learning.The virtual space determination unit 220 according to one embodiment ofthe invention may correct at least one component of the virtual space(e.g., a geography, a location, an object, a theme, and the like of thevirtual space) to match with the time point information associated withthe user, with reference to the output result of the virtual spacecorrection model.

Meanwhile, although it has been described above that the virtual spacedetermination unit 220 corrects the virtual space with reference to thetime point information associated with the user after the virtual spaceis created with reference to the spatial information on the sharedcontent, it is noted that the virtual space determination unit 220 mayrecreate (or further create) the virtual space with reference to thetime point information associated with the user (specifically, withreference to the spatial information on the shared content as well asthe time point information associated with the user) after the virtualspace is created with reference to the spatial information on the sharedcontent.

Next, the content provision unit 230 according to one embodiment of theinvention may function to provide the shared content to the user in thevirtual space determined by the virtual space determination unit 220.

For example, the content provision unit 230 according to one embodimentof the invention may cause a space connection object, which is intendedto provide a user experience in which the virtual space is spatiallyconnected with a place where the user is located, to be displayed asaugmented on a background video of the place where the user is located.According to one embodiment of the invention, the place where the useris located may be a real-world place, a virtual reality (VR) place, or amixed reality (MR) place in which the real world and virtual reality aremixed.

More specifically, the content provision unit 230 may cause a spaceconnection object in a two-dimensional shape such as a circle, anellipse, or a square or in a three-dimensional shape such as a sphere, ahemisphere, a cuboid, or a cube (or possibly a character, a volumetricvideo, a point cloud, an object composed of polygons, or the like) to bedisplayed as augmented on a background video of a real-world place or avirtual reality place where the user is located. In this case, accordingto one embodiment of the invention, at least a part of the virtual spacemay be displayed as projected or overlapped on the space connectionobject. That is, at least a part of the virtual space may be projectedor overlapped to improve the user experience in which the virtual spaceis spatially connected with the place where the user is located.

Meanwhile, when it is determined that the user is located in a placethat meets a predetermined trigger condition (e.g., a real-world place,a virtual reality (VR) place, or a mixed reality (MR) place in which thereal world and virtual reality are mixed), the content provision unit230 may cause the space connection object to be displayed as augmentedon a background video of the place where the user is located. Accordingto one embodiment of the invention, the place that meets a predeterminedtrigger condition may refer to a place with predetermined requirementsthat allow the virtual space to be displayed to the user.

For example, when the place that meets a predetermined trigger conditionis a real-world place where three surfaces of a room are located withina predetermined distance from a user (e.g., a user device), the contentprovision unit 230 may determine that the trigger condition is satisfiedwhen the user is located at the corner of the room, and may cause thespace connection object to be displayed as augmented on a backgroundvideo of the real-world place where the user is located.

Next, when an authored content is created by the user in the virtualspace determined by the virtual space determination unit 220, thesharing management unit 240 according to one embodiment of the inventionmay function to share the authored content with respect to a locationmatched with a location where the authored content is created in thevirtual space.

For example, when the user creates (e.g., tags) a content related to atleast one of a text, image, video, and sound with respect to apredetermined location in the virtual space (or a content including acharacter, a volumetric video, a point cloud, an object composed ofpolygons, or the like on a background video of a virtual reality place)as the authored content, the sharing management unit 240 may cause thetagged authored content to be identically displayed to another user(specifically, another user device) located at a real-world locationthat is matched with the location where the authored content is createdin the virtual space (or present at a different time point in thevirtual space). According to one embodiment of the invention, thematched real-world location (or the location at the different time pointin the virtual space) may be specified with respect to absolutecoordinates (e.g., geographic coordinates such as GPS coordinates) orrelative coordinates of the location where the authored content istagged in the virtual space. Meanwhile, the location matched with thelocation where the authored content is created in the virtual space maybe more accurately specified with further reference to at least onepublic or private database for a three-dimensional map or athree-dimensional space related to the location.

More specifically, when the location where the authored content iscreated by the user in the virtual space is a wall of a building, thesharing management unit 240 may cause the same content as the authoredcontent to be displayed in real time as augmented on the wall of thebuilding in the real world.

Meanwhile, when time point information is specified by the user, thesharing management unit 240 according to one embodiment of the inventionmay cause an authored content created in a virtual space determined withrespect to the specified time point information to be shared to otherusers. Further, when the virtual space determined with reference to thetime point information associated with the user changes in a time-serialmanner, the sharing management unit 240 according to one embodiment ofthe invention may cause an authored content created at each time pointto be sequentially shared over time in the virtual space. For example,the sharing management unit 240 according to one embodiment of theinvention may cause the authored content to be sequentially shared overtime (e.g., to be created according to the time point when each authoredcontent is created) in a virtual space that changes in a time-serialmanner between first time point information specified by the user andsecond time point information at the time when the shared content isprovided to the user (or third time point information specified by theuser (i.e., time point information different from the first time pointinformation)).

Next, the communication unit 250 according to one embodiment of theinvention may function to enable data transmission/reception from/to thespatial information acquisition unit 210, the virtual spacedetermination unit 220, the content provision unit 230, and the sharingmanagement unit 240.

Lastly, the control unit 260 according to one embodiment of theinvention may function to control data flow among the spatialinformation acquisition unit 210, the virtual space determination unit220, the content provision unit 230, the sharing management unit 240,and the communication unit 250. That is, the control unit 260 accordingto the invention may control data flow into/out of the support system200 or data flow among the respective components of the support system200, such that the spatial information acquisition unit 210, the virtualspace determination unit 220, the content provision unit 230, thesharing management unit 240, and the communication unit 250 may carryout their particular functions, respectively.

Hereinafter, situations in which contents are shared according to oneembodiment of the invention will be described in detail with referenceto FIGS. 3 to 17 .

FIGS. 3 to 17 illustratively show situations in which experiences areshared between users according to one embodiment of the invention.

First Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 3 , it may be assumed that a shared content isprovided by a first user (specifically, a first user device 310) andshared to a second user (specifically, a second user device 320) and athird user (specifically, a third user device 330).

First, spatial information on a plurality of shared contents includingthe shared content provided by the first user may be acquired, andvirtual spaces may be respectively created with reference to the spatialinformation on the plurality of shared contents.

For example, referring to (a), (b), (c), and (d) of FIG. 4 , spatialinformation on each of a plurality of shared contents including sharedcontents about major attractions or major tourist spots (e.g., WembleyStadium, Stade de France in Paris, and Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin)may be acquired, and a plurality of virtual spaces associated with theplurality of shared contents may be created with reference to thespatial information on each of the plurality of shared contents. Next, aplurality of space connection objects (e.g., portals) for spatiallyconnecting the plurality of virtual spaces with a virtual place wherethe second or third user is located may be displayed as augmented on abackground of the virtual place where the second or third user islocated.

For example, when the virtual place where the second or third user islocated is the universe, a plurality of space connection objects 410,420, and 430 for spatially connecting the universe with the plurality ofvirtual spaces may be displayed as augmented on a background of theuniverse.

As another example, when the virtual place where the second or thirduser is located is a virtual personal space (e.g., a virtual house or avirtual island), a plurality of space connection objects for spatiallyconnecting the virtual personal space with the plurality of virtualspaces may be displayed as augmented on a background of the virtualpersonal space.

Meanwhile, a plurality of space connection objects 440, 450, 460, and470 for spatially connecting the virtual place where the second or thirduser is located with the plurality of virtual spaces may be displayed asaugmented on a background of a predetermined map or list.

Second Embodiment

According to one embodiment of the invention, it may be assumed that ashared content for experience sharing is shared to a user located in anoffice or a shopping mall.

First, spatial information on a shared content for experience sharingmay be acquired.

For example, spatial information on a shared content created on thebasis of the Gwanghwamun Street among real-world places may be acquired.Further, spatial information on a shared content created on the basis ofthe Sahara desert among virtual places may be acquired.

Next, a virtual space may be created with reference to the spatialinformation on the shared content.

For example, a virtual space associated with the shared content createdon the basis of the Gwanghwamun Street may be created with reference tothe spatial information on the shared content. Further, a virtual spaceassociated with the shared content created on the basis of the Saharadesert may be created with reference to the spatial information on theshared content.

Next, the shared content may be provided to the user in the createdvirtual space.

For example, referring to (a) of FIG. 5 , a space connection object 510,which is intended to provide a user experience in which the virtualspace is spatially connected with an office 501 where the user islocated, may be displayed as augmented on a background real-world videoof the office 501 where the user is located. Further, referring to (a)of FIG. 6 , a space connection object 610, which is intended to providea user experience in which the virtual space is spatially connected witha shopping mall 601 where the user is located, may be displayed asaugmented on a background real-world video of the shopping mall 601where the user is located. In addition, referring to (b) of FIG. 6 ,when the user approaches or zooms in toward the space connection object610, a user experience in which the user enters the virtual spacethrough the space connection object 610 may be provided.

Next, when an authored content is created by the user in the virtualspace, the authored content may be shared with respect to a locationmatched with the location where the authored content is created in thevirtual space.

For example, referring to (b) of FIG. 5 , when authored contents 521 to526 related to texts and images are created by the user in theGwanghwamun Street, the authored contents may be shared with respect tothe actual Gwanghwamun Street, which is a location matched with thelocation where the authored contents are created. More specifically, thesame contents as the authored contents 521 to 526 may be displayed inreal time as augmented to another user (specifically, another user'sdevice) located in the actual Gwanghwamun Street.

As another example, referring to FIGS. 12 to 15 , when an authoredcontent 1301 related to a text and an image (see (a), (b), (c), (d) and(e) of FIG. 13 ) is created by the user in the Gwanghwamun Street whichis a virtual space (see (a) and (b) of FIG. 12 ), the authored contentmay be shared with respect to the virtual Gwanghwamun Street, which ismatched with the location where the authored content is created (see(a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 14 ). Further, the authored content may betagged with information on the user who has created the authored content(e.g., an ID, creation time, creation place, and the like) (see 1501 and1502).

Meanwhile, when it is determined that the user is located in areal-world place or a virtual place that meets a predetermined triggercondition, the space connection object 510 or 610 may be displayed asaugmented on a background real-world video of the office 501 or shoppingmall 601 where the user is located.

Third Embodiment

According to one embodiment of the invention, it may be assumed that ashared content is provided by a first user (specifically, a first userdevice 310) and shared to a second user (specifically, a second userdevice 320) and a third user (specifically, a third user device 330) inreal time. Specifically, it may be assumed that chatting is performedbetween the first user, the second user, and the third user in a virtualspace created on the basis of spatial information on the shared contentprovided by the first user.

First, referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 , a shared content with the EiffelTower in Paris, France in a background may be created by the first user(specifically, the first user device 310).

Further, a virtual space may be created with reference to spatialinformation 710, 720 on the shared content.

For example, a point cloud related to a place associated with the sharedcontent may be specified on the basis of the spatial information 710,720 on the shared content, and the virtual space may be created on thebasis of the specified point cloud (e.g., to coincide with at least oneof shapes, sizes, locations, boundaries, and orientations of a pluralityof point clouds including the specified point cloud).

Next, referring to FIGS. 10 and 11 , space connection objects 1010 and1110, which are intended to provide user experiences in which thevirtual space is spatially connected with places where the second andthird users (specifically, the second and third user devices 320 and330) are located, may be displayed as augmented on backgrounds of theplaces where the second and third users are located, respectively (see1000(a) and 1100(a)).

Meanwhile, the space connection objects 1010 and 1110 may be createdonly when it is determined that the second and third users(specifically, the second and third user devices 320 and 330) arelocated in places that meet a predetermined trigger condition.

For example, referring to FIG. 9 , the space connection object may becreated when the second user (specifically, the second user device 320)is located at a corner 910 of a room where the second user may face sixsurfaces of the room within a predetermined distance.

Next, when the second and third users approach or zoom in toward thespace connection objects 1010 and 1110, the virtual space may bedisplayed to the second and third users, respectively (see 1000(b) and1100(b)).

Next, when a first authored content 1020 or 1030 is created by thesecond user in the virtual space (see 1000(c)), the first authoredcontent 1020 or 1030 may be shared with respect to a location matchedwith the location where the first authored content 1020 or 1030 iscreated in the virtual space (see 1100(c) and 800(b)).

Specifically, the first authored content 1020 or 1030 may be shared withrespect to a location of the third user in the virtual space that ismatched with the location where the first authored content 1020 or 1030is created in the virtual space (see 1100(c)). Further, the firstauthored content 1020 or 1030 may be shared with respect to a locationin the real world that is matched with the location where the firstauthored content 1020 or 1030 is created in the virtual space (see800(b)).

Next, when a second authored content 1120 is created by the third userin the virtual space (see 1100(d)), the second authored content 1120 maybe shared with respect to a location matched with the location where thesecond authored content 1120 is created in the virtual space (see 1000(d) and 800(c)).

Specifically, the second authored content 1120 may be shared withrespect to a location of the second user in the virtual space that ismatched with the location where the second authored content 1120 iscreated in the virtual space (see 1000(d)). Further, the second authoredcontent 1120 may be shared with respect to a location in the real worldthat is matched with the location where the second authored content 1120is created in the virtual space (see 800(c)).

Fourth Embodiment

According to one embodiment of the invention, it may be assumed that ashared content is provided by a first user (specifically, a first userdevice 310) and shared (i.e., provided) to a second user (specifically,a second user device 320).

First, referring to (a) of FIG. 17 , a shared content with the EiffelTower in Paris, France as of summer 2018 in a background (e.g., areal-world space in which the first user was located) is provided fromthe first user (specifically, the first user device 310), and a virtualspace (which may contain the Eiffel Tower and various nearby natural andartificial objects) may be created with reference to spatial informationon the shared content. In order to create the virtual space, dataobtained by photographing of the first user (specifically, the firstuser device 310) or point cloud data of the space specified with respectto the location of the first user device 310 (e.g., point cloud data ofthe space at that time point) may be used.

Next, referring to (b) of FIG. 17 , when the shared content (or virtualspace) is provided to the second user (specifically, the second userdevice 320) located in a bedroom in winter 2020, the virtual spaceassociated with the shared content may be corrected (or recreated) withreference to time point information at the time when the shared contentis provided to the second user.

For example, a tree of the virtual space associated with the sharedcontent may have leaves because time point information at the time whenthe virtual space associated with the shared content is created is thesummer of 2018. However, the time point information at the time when theshared content is provided to the second user is the winter of 2020, andthus a correction may be made such that the tree of the virtual spaceassociated with the shared content does not have leaves. Meanwhile, itis noted that such a correction is not necessarily made only to thecomponents of the virtual space, and may also be applied to authoredcontents created in the virtual space or the like as long as the objectsof the invention may be achieved.

Meanwhile, according to one embodiment of the invention, when the seconduser specifies (or searches for) certain time point information, thevirtual space associated with the shared content may be corrected (orrecreated) with reference to the time point information specified by thesecond user, and the shared content may be provided to the second userin the corrected (or recreated) virtual space. Here, the time pointinformation specified by the second user may include a time point in thepast or future (e.g., a virtual time capsule or virtual time logassociated with the shared content) with respect to the time pointinformation at the time when the virtual space is created.

Further, according to one embodiment of the invention, the sharedcontent may be provided to the second user in a virtual space thatchanges over time with respect to the time point information specifiedby the second user. For example, when the time point informationspecified by the second user is spring 2019, the shared content may beprovided to the second user in a virtual space that changes over timefrom the spring 2019.

Meanwhile, according to one embodiment of the invention, a spaceconnection object (e.g., a portal) for spatially connecting the virtualspace with the bedroom where the second user is located (i.e.,real-world space) may be displayed as augmented on a background of thebedroom where the second user is located.

Meanwhile, according to one embodiment of the invention, when the seconduser specifies (or searches for) certain time point information, atleast one authored content (e.g., a chat message that may be created ina virtual space corresponding to the specified time point information)may be shared to the second user in a virtual space determined withrespect to the specified time point information. Here, when the virtualspace changes in a time-serial manner with respect to the time pointinformation specified by the second user, an authored content (e.g.,chat message) created at each time point may be sequentially shared overtime in the virtual space. Further, when an additional authored content(e.g., chat message) is created by the second user in the virtual space,the additional authored content may be shared to other users withrespect to a location matched with the location where the additionalauthored content is created in the virtual space and the time pointinformation of the virtual space. (Here, the additional authored contentmay not exist in a virtual space corresponding to time point informationthat precedes the time point information at the time when the additionalauthored content is created. That is, an authored content may beselectively or dynamically shared with reference to time pointinformation).

The embodiments according to the invention as described above may beimplemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed byvarious computer components, and may be stored on a computer-readablerecording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may includeprogram instructions, data files, and data structures, separately or incombination. The program instructions stored on the computer-readablerecording medium may be specially designed and configured for thepresent invention, or may also be known and available to those skilledin the computer software field. Examples of the computer-readablerecording medium include the following: magnetic media such as harddisks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes; optical media such as compactdisk-read only memory (CD-ROM) and digital versatile disks (DVDs);magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices suchas read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM) and flash memory,which are specially configured to store and execute programinstructions. Examples of the program instructions include not onlymachine language codes created by a compiler, but also high-levellanguage codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter.The above hardware devices may be changed to one or more softwaremodules to perform the processes of the present invention, and viceversa.

Although the present invention has been described above in terms ofspecific items such as detailed elements as well as the limitedembodiments and the drawings, they are only provided to help moregeneral understanding of the invention, and the present invention is notlimited to the above embodiments. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that variousmodifications and changes may be made from the above description.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention shall not be limited tothe above-described embodiments, and the entire scope of the appendedclaims and their equivalents will fall within the scope and spirit ofthe invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for supporting experience sharingbetween users, the method comprising the steps of: acquiring spatialinformation on a shared content for experience sharing; determining avirtual space in which the shared content is to be provided to a user,with reference to the spatial information on the shared content and timepoint information associated with the user; and in response to the usercreating an authored content in the virtual space, sharing the authoredcontent with respect to a location matched with a location where theauthored content is created in the virtual space.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the virtual space is created with reference to the spatialinformation on the shared content, and corrected with reference to thetime point information associated with the user.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein at least one component of the virtual space is corrected withreference to the time point information associated with the user.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the time point information associated withthe user corresponds to time point information at the time when theshared content is provided to the user or time point informationspecified by the user.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtualspace changes in a time-serial manner with reference to the time pointinformation associated with the user.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe authored content is selectively shared with reference to the timepoint information associated with the user.
 7. A non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium having stored thereon a computerprogram for executing the method of claim
 1. 8. A system for supportingexperience sharing between users, the system comprising: a spatialinformation acquisition unit configured to acquire spatial informationon a shared content for experience sharing; a virtual spacedetermination unit configured to determine a virtual space in which theshared content is to be provided to a user, with reference to thespatial information on the shared content and time point informationassociated with the user; and a sharing management unit configured to,in response to the user creating an authored content in the virtualspace, share the authored content with respect to a location matchedwith a location where the authored content is created in the virtualspace.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the virtual space is createdwith reference to the spatial information on the shared content, andcorrected with reference to the time point information associated withthe user.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one component ofthe virtual space is corrected with reference to the time pointinformation associated with the user.
 11. The system of claim 8, whereinthe time point information associated with the user corresponds to timepoint information at the time when the shared content is provided to theuser or time point information specified by the user.
 12. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the virtual space changes in a time-serial manner withreference to the time point information associated with the user. 13.The system of claim 8, wherein the authored content is selectivelyshared with reference to the time point information associated with theuser.